Walsh ahead of Bean in undecided 8th District race

With 98 percent of the vote counted, Joe Walsh, a Republican tea party candidate, was leading incumbent Democrat Melissa Bean by one percentage point late Tuesday, which amounts to about 800 votes. The 8th District is a traditionally Republican district covering parts of Cook, McHenry and Lake counties.

Bean is a three-term incumbent who out-raised her opponent by more than four times the amount of money. The Bean camp seemed stunned by the tight results election night.

Walsh faced controversy and the national Republican Party wrote off the race, deciding instead to put money into other local Republican candidates. But Walsh has had the support of the local tea party and he is also benefiting from the anti-Democrat and anti-incumbent feeling around the country.